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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. key — for a lock
  3. bass — the fish
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pass — a permit
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. dip — to sink
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — in music
  24. nail — on a finger

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com